Brian Thompson The San Francisco 49ers are the
classiest organization in professional sports. So what if their
former owner is a mafia boss? E-mail your comments to [email protected].
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Every year, our wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving brings us the
“Three F’s” ““ family, food and
football!
Oh, I know. Football is a dirty, dirty word around UCLA these
days. In fact, most of us are doing our best to block out the
Bruins’ embarrassing loss to USC, not to mention their
complete collapse this past month that makes the national title
hopes seem like a bad joke.
But football is still inherently good. So we will leave the
collegiate ranks in our distant memory and talk pro-football.
So, who’s playing tomorrow? We’ve got Green Bay at
Detroit and Denver at Dallas. Hmm, the morning game features a
hapless team yet to get its first win (that would be the Lions).
And the afternoon game features two once-great teams on serious
declines.
Well, that doesn’t really do much for that “go
football!” attitude that we’re looking for.
But for those of you who have been so engrossed in UCLA football
that you’ve managed to not notice what’s happening in
the NFL, you’ve missed an interesting season. Thanksgiving
typically marks the beginning of the playoff drive. So things are
about to get interesting. Let’s take a look in our crystal
ball and predict who’s playoff-bound and who’s not.
Don’t forget to kick some of your winnings my way after you
win big in Vegas.
First, in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers (7-2) are back! Most
of the UCLA population is from Northern California, or at least so
it seems, so let’s start with “our” team. The
haters out there cheered the demise of the 49er dynasty. After
nearly two decades as a Super Bowl contender, the Niners appeared
down and out.
Sorry folks, after only two quick years of rebuilding, the
Niners are Super Bowl threats yet again. Jeff Garcia is the best
quarterback you’ve never heard of. The Niners also have the
best wide receiver in football, Terrell Owens. Unfortunately, he
also is the most emotionally unstable player in the league. He
pouts, he whines, he cries, he sulks. If he ever shuts his mouth
and just plays the game, he can be the next Jerry Rice.
The Niners can make it all the way to the NFC Championship
game.
Unfortunately, they probably won’t make it much further.
That’s because the St. Louis Rams (8-1) stand in their
way.
How good are the Rams? Well, they average 31 points per game. No
other team comes close. Their defense is as good as it was two
years ago when they won the Super Bowl, and RB Marshall Faulk is
the best player in the game today. When they are on, the Rams are
so good it’s scary. It’s almost as if they can score at
will.
Elsewhere, the surprise team of the NFC has been the Chicago
Bears (7-2). The resurgent Green Bay Packers (6-3) also look good.
Brett Favre can will that team to victories. The East has been
lackluster, with only Philadelphia looking like a threat. Memo to
Eagles coach Andy Reid: Give Freddie the ball!
As for the disappointments, the Buccaneers (4-5) and the Vikings
(4-5) top the list. The Bucs have been just plain bad. And the
Vikes never got past the death of Korey Stringer.
NFC Championship: St. Louis over San Francisco.
Other NFC playoff teams: Philadelphia, Green Bay, Chicago, and
New Orleans.
The AFC has been more of a mess than the NFC. First, let’s
look at who’s been bad and work our way up. The Colts (4-5),
Titans (4-5), Broncos (5-5) and defending champion Ravens (6-4)
were also supposed to be Super Bowl contenders. As it stands now,
all four may not even make the playoffs. They’ve been all
hurt by injuries to key players.
Miami (6-3) and the New York Jets (7-3) will battle it out for
top spots out east. Both are good teams, but far from great. The
Jets have an offense and no defense; the Dolphins have a defense
and no offense.
Pittsburgh (7-2) and Cleveland (5-4) have been the surprises of
the AFC this year. The Steelers finally got consistency from QB
Kordell Stewart.
And bulky RB Jerome “The Bus” Bettis is an MVP
candidate. And their defense is only yielding 10.8 points a game!
The Browns finally emerged from the cellar and have racked up some
big wins, including two against the defending champs. But they
aren’t ready to break through just yet.
The class of the AFC are the Raiders (7-2). They have
exceptional balance on offense, with a steady QB in Rich Gannon,
two top caliber RBs in Charlie Garner and Tyrone Wheatley, and two
Hall of Fame WRs in Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. Oakland boasts an
efficient offense and a punishing defense.
AFC Championship: Oakland over Baltimore.
Other AFC playoff teams: Pittsburgh, Miami, New York Jets, and
Denver.
Yes, I am predicting for an all-teams that left Los Angeles
Super Bowl!
Hey, what does that say about a city when both teams have to
leave in order to get any good?